One of the most important tools that a filmmaker has are his/her notes.

I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always wanted to be a guard. The most wonderful girl in the world was a guard. When I got polio and then went back to school, they made me a guard. A teacher took away my guard button.

To make great movies, there is an element of risk. You have to say, 'Well, I am going to make this film, and it is not really a sure thing.'

Ten Days That Shook The World, by Eisenstein, I went to see it, and I was so impressed with this film, so impressed with what cinema could do.

I thought I wanted to be a playwright because I was interested in stories and telling stories.

I wanted to write and direct movies and not be forced to adapt them from a bestselling book.

Some critics are stimulating in that they make you realise how you could do better, and those are valued.